#this show era and this character specifically used to be the thing I was primarily associated with irl

[musical-chick-13]

ANYWAY, the moment when Amy asks the Teselecta to turn into River, and Mels/Melody/Not-Yet-River realizes that the person everyone has spent this entire episode talking about with care and fondness is actually her, they were talking about her, and then she just stands there tearing up and immediately decides to change the course of her entire life >>>>>>>

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ok so like objectively yes ed did things wrong but not only do i personally feel no negative emotions about any of that, i swear it would make more sense tonally with the rest of the show to NOT make a huge chunk of s2 be about ed facing the consequences for and redeeming himself from the marooning/pushing lucius overboard/izzy toe thing. like if im wrong i’m wrong and it’s whatever but i really really think the focus will be more on ed’s internal emotional state and how his choices were informed by trauma and how he’s going to learn to heal more than it’s gonna be like, Ed Learns It’s Wrong To Maroon People And Force Feed People Their Own Toes. like if anything i think it’ll be Ed Learns That He Deserves To Be Happy And He Also Realizes That Marooning People And Force Feeding People Their Own Toes Is An Unhealthy Coping Skill That Negatively Affects His Mental Health And He Learns New, Healthier Coping Strategies. like i think the focus of coming out of the kraken era is going to be almost entirely on ed’s feelings, and any mention of how his actions harmed the rest of the cast will be brief and/or it’ll primarily be played for comedy

which yes irl this would kinda suck to have some guy respond to getting his heart broken (and other stuff) by killing and maiming people and then have his whole journey of self-discovery be solely abt him and not any of the people he’s hurt. HOWEVER a biiiiiig part of the humor of the show is that the characters are experiencing some very real and very relatable self-esteem issues and insecurities and vulnerabilities, and all of that is placed on a backdrop of comedically gratuitous pirate violence. like this is a romcom and ed is basically going through the classic emotional beats of the romcom heroine getting her heart broken and eating a whole tub of ice cream and crying in her room for days before becoming cold and distant and “love is dead” edgy, only the joke is that bc he’s a pirate his “love is dead” romcom era includes some people actually literally dying. izzy and the crew all just happen to be in the blast radius for this joke, and while we as fans might love and care abt those characters too, the plain fact is that ed and stede are the main characters and the other characters’s feelings or storylines or internal motivations simply do not matter nearly as much to the show as theirs (with the exception of maybe jim, and also maybe olu depending on how s2 goes). and that’s literally just how romcoms work. this sort of “protagonist bias” is like, a core part of this kind of story.

and there’s nothing wrong with not vibing with the story because of that. if season two comes and goes and you aren’t happy with how the show handled the consequences of ed’s actions in e10 that’s fine, nobody has to feel any specific way about this show. but if i’m right and this is how s2 plays out and some of y’all don’t like this, the problem is not that ofmd is bad. the problem is just that this is not the story you wanted or expected to be told.

i DO think, tho, that there’s something very powerful abt a character like this being a queer indigenous man. he’s a gay romcom protagonist and narratively speaking his feelings trump all. this is a queer romcom that uses gratuitous slapstick violence as a punchline and where the queer main characters are allowed to get violent and unhinged about their feelings, and at the end of the day they ultimately get a pass bc it’s a gay romcom and the show is about them. like literally that description itself is more than i could’ve ever dreamed of from any tv show ever, and THEN you’re telling me that one of the main characters is indigenous???? it’s been a year and a half and s2 is right around the corner and i swear to god i still can’t believe this show actually exists. we don’t GET shows like this, we don’t GET characters like this. ed teach is such a fucking blessing of a character and i love him with all my heart.

[paulrobinsonshotel]

I love RTD's writing, and it was his era that made me fall in love with the show as a kid. When it was announced he was coming back, my reaction was nothing short of ecstasy.

When the rumours began to swirl that we'd be getting a Tennant-centric special with the Doctor regenerating BACK into him, I was very much "please no", but also thinking "surely, RTD wouldn't actually do this. There's NO WAY he'd actually do this".

Then Ncuti Gatwa was announced, amazing, wonderful. He'll be fantastic, no doubt about it.

Then we got the Tennant and Tate 60th announcement. At that point, the cracks began to show. Yes, my favourite companion and one of my favourite Doctors. I was excited, but I was waiting for more. We've already seen David Tennant's Doctor and Donna Noble written by Russell T Davies, and it was great. But for an anniversary special, the things that bring different eras of the show together in celebration of its history... pretty underwhelming.

Then the thing I was dreading most, the Doctor regenerating back into Tennant - something that had been the refuge of obsessives making badly edited fan videos from 2010 onwards - actually happened. And not only that, but he regenerated straight out of Whittaker's outfit into a Tennant-esque one. Ostensibly because RTD didn't want the image of Tennant in Whittaker's outfit to be used to whip up anti-drag or transphobic hate. Despite the fact that 1) Whittaker went out of her way to make her outfit gender neutral, so that all fans would be able to dress up as her Doctor and feel included and 2) surely it's more important to broadcast the message that anyone of any gender can wear any clothes they want, and there's nothing wrong with it?

The initial Tennant/Tate announcement was in May 2022. My initial dissatisfaction was met with responses like "The episodes are ages away, just wait and see". We're fifteen months on, and no further returning characters have been announced. As far as we know, these specials will still be primarily focused on Tennant, Tate and Donna's supporting cast (that said, the one thing in all this I'm happy about is seeing Bernard Cribbins again).

Of course, that doesn't mean there's been no announcements about the episodes at all. Segun Akinola's decided to leave, so we're getting a new composer. That's exciting, I wonder who it'll be? Oh, brilliant, it's Murray Gold. Again. In RTD's own words, "is anyone surprised?". Surprised? No. But fair to say my enthusiasm went from very low to absolute zero.

Gold is great as what he does, but we just had Akinola, an incredibly skilled composer who poured his heart and soul into the show, but was never given a chance by a chunk of the fandom because he tried something different to Gold or just because they didn't like the Chibnall era as a whole. So RTD could've brought in some new talent, with a completely fresh take, but instead chose to bring back yet another person from his era, who did 10 seasons on the show, and the one person the fandom needs to move the fuck on from the most.

So that's a special meant to celebrate 60 years of the show, but specifically focused on one era of it? Coincidentally, the era of the guy writing it?

And for those who dismiss any criticism of this being RTD centric with "But Beep the Meep/The Toymaker!!!", ask yourselves this: If Chibnall stayed on and did the 60th as nothing but a Thirteen and Yaz story, but with Beep/Toymaker, or if Moffat come back and done the same with his characters, would there be anything other than across the board outrage? Classic villains do not an anniversary special make, since we've had them in every season since the revival.

I'm sure the episodes will be genuinely good, and I'll certainly be watching. Any DW is better than no DW, but of all the things they could've done for an anniversary special, this is practically an insult to the show's history.

I'll be patiently waiting for Ncuti Gatwa's era, which looks genuinely new and exciting.

Rant over.

[junosmindpalace]

Hi, loved your last dcst headcanons, so here's another idea.

We all know that they the team travelled by ship the most. Well, how about a modern AU, characters (Ryusui, Senku, Tsukasa, Ukyo, any others you like) taking their s/o /friend on a trip?

Like, method of transport, why would they decide to do it, what will they do at the destination. If that's not too specific, of course.

hi there! thank you for your request! i love imagining the dcst characters pre petrification in modern era  !!

SENKU:

When Senku suggests trips, they can be mostly last minute and pretty unexpected.

He’s mostly hush hush about all the details as he plans it, which is evident when Taiju found out last minute about his plans to go to Africa. 

It’s almost the same for you, but with a little bit more of a heads up so he knows how to prepare. 

Nevertheless you’re still caught off guard when he randomly suggests or asks if you’d want to come on a trip somewhere with him, usually motivated by an experiment or scientific curiosity. 

As for the destination, I think it depends. We know he’s not below just keeping his locations to some place locally. Dude is traveling all over the world on impulse.

So you’re really trying your best to predict whether or not you’ll be flying over to the next continent or taking a train ride when Senku suggests a trip. 

Method of transportation also depends on the destination. Again, if it’s somewhere faaaar far, plane is the way to go. If it’s within the country, however, you’ll mostly likely be taking some trains. 

The destination itself, no matter what it is, is also something that will always leave you surprised. Whether it’s some remote place or a museum or whatever it is that is the source of Senku’s curiosity, most of the time Senku is going with a clear idea of what information he wants to get. So he’s primarily focused on that.

But he encourages you to find amusement for yourself, too, and would absolutely love it if you helped him with his research. 

RYUSUI: 

Hou boy, where even to begin with Ryusui and travel. 

Method of transportation is obviously the first thing I have to talk about; you’ll be traveling first class, absolutely luxuriously, no matter where it is you’re going. Could be a ten minute trip into some place locally and you’ll still be getting the best accommodations money can buy.

Whether it be on a plane, train, or bus, or one of the Nanamis’ personal jets and helicopters and what not, you’ll be smooth sailing (literally and figuratively) the entire way. Ryusui might also be pretty eager to take you on his ship once it finishes, so be prepared for some eager talking and insistence to come along with him, and even more eager captaining. 

The destination itself, similarly to Senku, can be pretty spontaneous, or at least it seems that way to a lot of people. He’s quite used to suddenly springing up trips he wants to take; he probably has the means to up and leave whenever he wants. 

But no matter what it is, he always encourages you to tag along with him with a boisterous laugh or a solemn expression, depending on the goal of his visit. No matter what, he loves commanding his ship and showing you all the fascinating things he’s learned about them in the time he dedicated himself to its art. 

Again, similarly to Senku, the trips are often motivated by a sudden desire to do, see, or obtain something that he isn’t able to with his own two eyes or hands within the country. And as Ryusui wants to act on his desires as soon as possible, most of the time he gives staff a day to prepare pilots and vehicles. It’s also time he gives you to consider his offer of tagging along. 

Seems a bit unfair, but Ryusui always brings you back in one piece! And you may also find some fun in his eagerness to include you in his activities.

TSUKASA: 

Probably the most normal when it comes to traveling. As in there aren’t any insane locations or high end accommodations. 

The most frequent kind of travel Tsukasa generally does (or suggests for you to tag along on) is to the hospital where Mirai resides, or to MMA fights and related interviews. He probably trusts you enough to see those vulnerable parts of him, and it may also contribute to some sort of comfort he feels when he gets lost in his head and heart full of hard feelings and thoughts. Having someone he cares about just standing by the corner and giving him a small smile helps ground him and offer a small smile back. 

That doesn’t mean trips are limited to these occasions, however. Most other trips would be dates; nothing too high end, but still fun and heartfelt events that pop up locally. And of course, if there’s a specific place you’d like to visit, Tsukasa is more than happy to come along no matter what it is. 

Unless you receive accommodations for interviews and scheduled fights, most of the time the two of you will either be taking the train, driving, or walking, depending on where it is you’re going. Tsukasa loves walking through parks and beaches with you the most. 

UKYO:

Don’t know how much time he’d have for traveling, generally speaking in terms of his work, so they might be sparse/few and far in between. 

But just like Tsukasa, trips would probably be more casual and planned out a little more compared to Senku and Ryusui’s seemingly impulsive and loosely structured trips to wherever for whatever. 

Ukyo probably intentionally plans bigger trips like day outs or overnight trips around the available time he has off from work. He looks forward to getting to spend some time with you doing something fun and interesting. 

He would probably want to plan the destinations alongside you, too. The itinerary is carefully compiled together, but not too rigid as to cause stress. They’re usually anywhere and everywhere; cafes and restaurants never before visited, parks and scenic routes, and perhaps some stores in between. He’s more than happy to tag along to anywhere you want to go. 

Mode of transportation also depends on where you’re going, but like Tsukasa, the most frequent modes of transport are driving, by train, or by walking. Though he hates getting stuck in traffic jams, so public transport and walking are usually his go-to’s.

No matter where it is, though, Ukyo is just happy to spend some time with you, especially if your separate responsibilities have been keeping you apart.

[elvain]

marvel's boys: from sidekicks to heroes

i've been seeing a lot of talk about my friend ray's post about the mentor/sidekick relationship in marvel as compared to DC (this post is specifically in regards to the movie portrayal of said relationships). find the post here. the discussion around this post has inspired some thoughts in me, so i thought i'd share them below.

steve and bucky's relationship as mentor/sidekick originates in the golden age as part of the "child sidekick/hero" craze phenomenon at the time. kids wanted to know they could contribute to the war effort in these years, that they could also make a difference when their fathers and brothers went to war. so the child sidekick was invented and at marvel, that was bucky barnes + toro raymond.

but even in the silver age, we maintained a younger sidekick mentality: rick jones, janet van dyne (until she turned out be old enough to marry hank pym), and i would even include flash thompson's brief stint as a fake spider-man in this category. but, yes, all these "sidekick" scenarios eventually winded down. but i don't think it's because marvel decided sidekicks weren't a worthy trend anymore. far from it.

i think DC's interpretation of the mentor/sidekick relationship becomes more paternal/familial whereas marvel's becomes centered around guilt and trauma (rick jones, primarily). i wouldn't say marvel hated sidekicks after the golden age; they just become heroes on their own (peter parker, the original x-men, nova, etc.) rather than relying on a mentor-esque figure. i think DC has clung to the paternal side of this trend more and maintained it - it's worked for them, so great. but marvel i think dived the other way which was also great.

i know about the "spider-man killed teen sidekicks by being both a young person and the main hero" take as well and i have some thoughts on that, too, if you'll bear with me.

i think it isn't that we started hating sidekicks. i think we realized that, after the golden age, the kids weren't just kids anymore. there is a genre of kid who was too young to fight in ww2 but who still dealt with that trauma and that kid was reading these comics, sending in letters, collecting stamps, etc. comic mags in the golden age used to be FULL of things like "if you see any war planes over your city, report it to the nearest military office!" or "you can collect scrap metal and donate it to the war effort, just like timmy here!" and after the events of pearl harbor, every timely comic had a big stamp on them, demanding that we "remember pearl harbour".

now its 1962 and that kid is 15 and he kinda doesn't NEED his dad as much cause he's either dead or he's been away for years fighting in the war. this kid needs to be his own hero. [gestures to peter parker, richard rider, steve rogers even if you count the origin story] like it isn't that spider-man killed the sidekicks - it's that he lost his father figure (ben parker) and now had to be his own hero and i think that would've resonated a LOT with kids of that era who had gone through a similar loss.

i think it shows in rick jones too - the reason rick just never REALLY "sidekicked" is because he was a reflection of the young boys/girls at the time who suddenly had no parents or elder figures bc of the wars. now they had to deal with it on their own and thats why he didn't stick it out with steve and why he became bruce's friend instead of the hulk's sidekick, cause he just didn't need that mentor and that protection anymore after what he (as a representation of kids from the after-war years) had gone through.

it isn't that the sidekicks died. it's that they were forced to grow up.

if you're interested in thoughts like this, i have some posts on my rarely used wordpress blog. The Golden Age: overview: how i started reading the Golden Age comics. The Golden Age: I: characters i thought i knew, but did not. The Golden Age II: think of the women and children!

[not-wholly-unheroic]

This is a weird question, but y'know how some versions of Hook are super serious nearly all of the time (like in the novel and in Peter Pan and the Pirates) and some of them are only semi-serious (like the Cyril Ritchard one)? Where does Disney Hook sit on that scale of silly to serious? What do you think the ideal ratio is?

Another thing, how rich looking do you like Hook to be? Toned down like his OG stage appearance or crazy, stupid, impractical wealthy looking like Hoffman's Hook?

Love the blog btw :)

Aw, thanks so much! I’m always happy to hear someone is enjoying my content and I’m not just rambling about my favorite character into the void. 😅

So…as this is primarily a Disney Hook blog, I’m admittedly a little bit biased in my preference. I love most versions of Hook (though there are a few I actually really dislike because I feel they do a disservice to the character), but Disney has a special place in my heart because it was Disney’s version that first drew me to the character and convinced me to read the novel. I was intrigued by the fact that he could simultaneously be a legitimately threatening villain and also show emotions like fear and despair that we so rarely saw in animated villain characters from that era. It was these moments of “weakness” that made him actually seem human to me. A Hook (or any character) who is TOO stoic and frightening either becomes entirely unlikable because the audience can’t relate to them or they become a sort of flat, boring stereotype, a sort of caricature of villainy.

The more classic Disney villains are generally meant to be the sort of character we love to hate and hate to love. They’re supposed to be a little over the top and larger than life. They’re meant to revel in their villainy while still being entertaining. We’re supposed to like them at least to a point even if we seriously disagree with their moral standpoint on things. There are a few, however, who become a little too “real” and who I genuinely despise… Frollo comes to mind. There is nothing “fun” about Frollo. He’s a racist, misogynistic, ableist man who mis-uses the name of God and his authoritative position to get what he wants. Is Frollo a well-written villain? Oh, absolutely. Is there anything about him that I find likable or redeemable? I mean, he has a good singing voice… But that’s about the only nice thing I can say about him. He’s a terrible person and I have zero sympathy for him at his death.

But to return to Hook specifically…. What I find interesting is that although Disney’s Hook is often accused of being too silly, really the only thing that makes him a comical villain is his fear reactions to the crocodile (and octopus if you include the sequel). And that is entirely a function of the lens we are given to view him as the audience. The music we hear in the background as the crocodile’s theme is rather lighthearted and the other characters (the heroes) are often making fun of him in the scenes where he’s having a complete breakdown and running/swimming for his life. But if we switched the music to something more ominous (check out the Drewe & Stiles Peter Pan musical theme for the crocodile—it’s frankly terrifying) and saw things from Hook’s perspective…it would really give off the same vibes as, say, Jaws or Jurassic Park. I strongly suspect that if it were our heroes being chased by the crocodile, things would look/sound/feel very different. Case in point…go watch clips of Pinocchio where Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio, and Geppetto are fleeing Monstro the Whale and compare them side by side with Hook’s interactions with the crocodile. One is portrayed as comedic while the other is an action scene where we feel like the characters are genuinely in danger…but realistically, the same thing is happening in both. (Side note… I was absolutely TERRIFIED of that scene in Pinocchio as a kid. I literally had nightmares about it…so maybe I just relate a little too hard to Hook’s reaction and that’s why I’m so defensive of him.)

Compared to certain other Hooks, Disney’s is rather…soft, high-strung, and prone to being emotional but…that’s actually what I like most about him. That said, there are absolutely moments when we are reminded that we should be afraid of him. Heck, he shoots a man dead in his first few minutes of screen time which is more than most villains do. During the scene in Skull Rock, he climbs up behind Peter and—if Wendy hadn’t warned him in time of Hook’s approach—would have sunk the claw in through Peter’s eye socket. Not to mention the fact that he threatens Tiger Lily’s life and afterlife, sends a bomb to a child, and would have gladly allowed every single one of the Lost Boys and Darlings to walk off the plank to drown when they wouldn’t sign on with his crew. We also have him mention in passing “boiling in oil…keelhauling…marooning…” which would seem to imply that these are things he has done before and is willing to do again. In Return to Neverland we arguably have some even scarier moments on-screen. That final showdown with Jane…there are moments where you can see the murder in his eyes. He nearly lops off Jane’s hand at one point and then immediately attempts to run her through with his sword when that fails. A few seconds too late and she would have been a goner. In those moments, we are reminded of exactly what Hook is capable of and why the children should be afraid of him.

Disney’s Hook is, I think, a good mixture of scary and sympathetic; humorous and heavy…and that’s why he’s my favorite Hook. He’s very human and it makes him a lot of fun to play around with as a writer.

To answer your second question regarding Hook’s opulence…I tend to prefer my Hooks to be somewhere in the middle—wealthy but not totally impractical. If you go back through the series I did looking at versions of the Jolly Roger in different Peter Pan media and what we could learn about that particular Hook from his ship, Disney and Isaacs come out as two of the “middle ground” Hooks who I would label as well-off (unlike Jude Law’s Hook, who seems more like any other average sailor in terms of his wealth) but not rich to the point of impractical extravagance (like Hoffman’s Hook).

[willswalkman]

Since the discussion around the implicit and explicit AIDS symbolism in Stranger Things (specifically S2) seems to be having a resurgence I thought I’d point out an interesting detail I noticed recently while rewatching S4.

In Ep3, at 19:21, right before El is arrested, we see Jonathan reading a newspaper that features the headline

“Discovery may help develop AIDS medicine.”

The article attached is indiscernible, but the image of Samuel Broder that accompanies it gives us a pretty good idea of what it contains.

For anyone unaware, Samuel Broder is a cancer specialist and medical researcher that helped co-develop some of the first effective drugs licensed for treating HIV/AIDS, such as Zidovudine, Zalcitabine, and Didanosine.

Now, I know I’m corn plate-ing a bit here, but I find this interesting primarily because it’s the first time (as far as I’m aware) that the show makes any kind of acknowledgment of the AIDS crisis that’s nonfigurative, despite it being one of the most culturally notable things about the era and an undoubtedly formative experience for the canon queer characters.

I have complicated feelings about the allegory that’s strung throughout S2, but with sensitivity readers present I believe there’s still an opportunity for the show to provide worthwhile commentary on the epidemic and it’s impact.

Furthermore, I strongly encourage anyone that’s thinking about joining in on the conversation to do some research before posting. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to available information on the history of HIV/AIDS, but if you’re looking for a starting point I recommend starting here.

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 16

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting down my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

We’ve reached the halfway point of the countdown!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “We're smart people. So why do we always do things that make us look like we have the intelligence of beef jerky?”

Number 16 is…or, rather, are…Zack & Ivy, from Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?

If you know me, then these two showing up somewhere on the countdown probably won’t be surprising. But if you don’t know me – or, quite possibly, if you only know the Carmen Sandiego franchise via the Netflix reboot series – then this will likely be VERY surprising, especially so high up. So, for those who came in late, as it were: the “Carmen Sandiego” franchise is an “edutainment” series, which primarily teaches social studies such as geography and history. It started off as a series of computer and video games, and was eventually spun off into four separate television programs. Two of them were game shows, the other two were animated programs for kids. The first of these animated programs – and my personal favorite take on the Carmen Sandiego franchise as a whole – was the cartoon series, “Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?”

In the pre-Netflix era of the franchise – and, by extension, in “Where on Earth?” – the premise remained largely unchanged: the title role of Carmen Sandiego is the main antagonist of the series. Carmen is a master thief, and the mysterious head of a legion of robbers, spies, and blackmailers known as “V.I.L.E.” She and her cronies go after rare and one-of-a-kind targets, stealing everything from white lion cubs to Elvis’ pink Cadillac to the Statue of Liberty itself and so much more. Trying to capture Carmen and stop her crimes is the ACME Detective Agency: an elite team of sleuths whose primary objective has become the defeat of Carmen Sandiego, who was once a member of the Agency herself before turning rogue.

In the original computer games, before the cartoon show came out, the Player was the lead detective (although they sometimes had helpers who were fellow ACME Agents in different titles). In the game shows, similarly, the players had the roles of the sleuths on Carmen’s trail. Naturally, for “Where on Earth?” this format wasn’t really going to fly: the creators needed specific protagonists, characters with personalities and lives all their own to go after the arch-villainess. Enter Zack and Ivy: the brother and sister teen detective duo who act as Carmen’s arch-nemeses in the series.

Zack is a computer whiz kid who seems to know almost every foreign language under the Sun. He’s a wisecracking jokester who loves riding his skateboard almost as much as he loves catching crooks. (Did I mention this show was made in the 90s?) Ivy, meanwhile, is an expert martial artist, rock climber, and all-around awesome gal who prefers more hands-on methods of detective work. She tends to be a little more serious than her brother. The two are, in some ways, total opposites, and in other ways they work like two peas in a pod: both have a tendency to grow impatient with one another, but each also cares a lot about their respective sibling. What I love about these two is that neither is really treated as the “top detective” of the two; there’s no clear leader or follower between them. Each compliments the other very well with their respective abilities, as well as their respective personality traits. Throughout the show, they use their knowledge of history, and their respective talents, to solve Carmen’s numerous clues and try to stop her crimes.

I absolutely love Zack and Ivy, and many other people seemed to like them, as well. They were even adapted into the video game lineup that sired the franchise: “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Junior Edition,” which was loosely inspired by the cartoon series, featured the pair as helping hands for the Player. They would also become the template for several other characters who would appear down the line in the franchise. Most notably, the two were later reimagined in the aforementioned Netflix reboot; in that version, Carmen is reinterpreted as an anti-hero instead of a straightforward villainess. Zack and Ivy, similarly, are reworked from a pair of intrepid and brilliant detectives out to catch her, to being her two partners-in-crime, and tend to act as the brawn to Carmen’s brain, in some ways. While these new versions of the characters were fun, and fit the new format, I’ll always prefer the original teen detective duo from the first cartoon show.

I was actually sorely tempted to include the pair in the Top 15, but after much deliberation, I felt others earned the higher ranks better. Still…when your arch-enemy is the World’s Greatest Thief, and you do manage to arrest her a couple of times? You’ve earned your stripes, to say the least.

Tomorrow, the countdown enters the Top 15!

CLUE: “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

[timelxrd-victorious]

Good day. I have an idea for a short story based off of your muse and your AU. Though not interested in Roleplay, I would like some pointers about the character.

The premise is Teine deciding to mess with a mentally unstable supersoldier who helped him fight the cybermen during his seventh incarnation.

Given the involvment of seven, I am curious about how your Muse relates to seven as a past incarnation.

In this specific story, I am using a slightly altered design of the Muse in that rather than being Nyarlathotep directly, instead he was a normal gallifreyan, but started to mutate/change during his seventh incarnation. He doesn't know why. This will be mystery played with in the story.

Anyway, Any pointers/tips about this story concept?

For Teine's Seventh incarnation, I primarily go with Seven's TV era + the Virgin New Adventures novels written by Dave Stone.

It's very heavily implied in Classic Who with Seven that the Doctor had ties to the foundation of Time Lord society, back before they were the Doctor. (This mostly comes up in Remembrance of the Daleks and Silver Nemesis.) Seven mutters "and didn't we have trouble with the prototype" regarding the Hand of Omega (before correcting himself when called on this by Ace), and flat-out tells Davros that he is "far more than just another Time Lord".

Lungbarrow by Marc Platt runs with this and reveals that the Doctor is basically the reincarnation (so to speak; it's complicated) of the Other, a Gallifreyan who might not have actually been a Gallifreyan, that was erased from Time Lord history and was one of the founding Triumvirate of Time Lord society along with Rassilon and Omega. After Rassilon became increasingly paranoid and power-hungry, the Other eventually threw themselves into the Loom and was reborn thousands (if not millions) of years later as the Gallifreyan who would go on to become the renegade Time Lord known as the Doctor.

The Seventh Doctor novels written by Dave Stone outright show that the Doctor is very much not an ordinary Gallifreyan and is this massive eldritch thing from another universe that goes exploring around the universe in a Gallifreyan form. It's heavily implied that the Doctor is Nyarlathotep, but this is never outright stated.

I go with Teine outright being Nyarlathotep because 1) I like eldritch cosmic horror in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft (without actually being written by Lovecraft, because fuck that guy); 2) it's fun for me to play around with.

Though, this was not how I originally wrote xem. I didn't find out about the whole Doctor Nyarlathotep concept until I'd been writing Teine for around a year, got deep into the expanded universe with the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels and Faction Paradox, and stumbled onto Dr. Nyarlathotep from there. Loved it, decided to incorporate it into my RP muse (and some of my Doctor Who fics). Before then I was primarily familiar with the revival series, the New Series Adventures novels with Nine and Ten, and some of the Classic serials with Four, Five, Three, and Seven that were on DVD at my local library.

In this specific story, I am using a slightly altered design of the Muse in that rather than being Nyarlathotep directly, instead he was a normal gallifreyan, but started to mutate/change during his seventh incarnation. He doesn't know why. This will be mystery played with in the story.

The Doctor has so much other stuff in their biodata at this point that this is totally plausible. Faction Paradox fucks around with Eight's biodata at one point and alters his history from when he was a Loomling; they go back and kill Three on the planet Dust way before Three regenerates in TV canon, etc. The Master in the 1996 movie exclaims at one point that "The Doctor is half-human!" (this was mocked to no end in the expanded universe and revival series). One of the EDAs has Team TARDIS meeting a group of wartime Time Lords that look like Elder Things. Interference has a freak show made up of a Gallifreyan priest's 13 incarnations, and the last one is a sentient timeline.

Going back even earlier, there's the Doctor's fight with Mobius, and a whole bunch of unknown faces flash onscreen that are all but stated to be previous incarnations of the Doctor that he has zero memory of.

One through Six had no memory of their previous lives from before they were the Doctor. Seven is the only incarnation that really seems to remember it. As for why that is... it's anybody's guess.

[eldritchmochi]

yeah I am pretty young lmao, I'll spare you from another playlist by just naming some artists that gave me inspiration for god knows at some point

first off you mentioned Hozier, which I kinda only mention because he released a new album recently. Arctic Monkeys and Father John Misty are kinda in the same boat as him. More like the same lake.

The Amazing Devil and The Oh Hellos never fail to give me some sort of D&D/character inspiration. Ghost does?? something??? as well with characters, but specific ones. Same with Steam Powered Giraffe.

other than that, Library Magic by The Head And The Heart is very Wizard, along with The Magician by Andy Shauf. and because I just can't go without mentioning it, Queen is my favorite band. :)

that's all! with any luck it'll end up being useful somehow lol

hozier is one of those artists who i dont listen to on purpose like ever i dont thinki could name a single song of his with confidence BUT i know his voice starkly as one i really lusted after pre-t. i saw he just dropped a new album and i HAVE to give it a listen to especially the video of sssomething or other (full album mv??? pLEASE) because it stars domnall gleeson and i am still horny for that man even after all these years (he's the actor for hux for context lmao)

queen is also one of my long time favs, though definitely a band i dont know in and out the way i do with a lot of more modern punk bands lmao. freddie has and always will be Gender (god the video for i want to break free was IT for me in like 8th grade right around when i came out)

ive seen spg live before!! they are *great* experience even if you're not deep into the lore (i had friends who were big lore fans). i have heard precisely One And A Half Ghost Songs and im keeping it that way on purpose because its just sooooooo funny that im not into them because aesthetically they are way up my alley (and one of my sibs, a number of irl buddies, and MANY artists i follow are all nuts for them)

ive some passing familiarity with the artic monkeys, enough that i can pick out a number of their more popular songs on the radio even if i cant name them (i am garbage at song titles tho so)

i'll have to check out the rest, especially good Wizards Songs 👀

in response!! further things to check out:

FUNKY.FM - playlist by alexmoukala who is one of my FAVOURITE video game composers. i know him primarily through twitter where he posts snippets of remixed or reimagined video game music... but FUNKY (this one is particularly relevant to u based of ur playlist shared w me)

ye old spooky club 1995 - playlist by unnerving governess who i am 90% sure is gothic charmschool. i know i got the link thru her but i thiiink she also made it (another playlist that may vibe w u based off your playlist)

creature feature, especially the album "the greatest show unearthed" (ookey spooky rock with a lot of vincent price era horror camp and a lot of really impressive technical skill. i want it to be halloween damnit)

the mind electric by the miracle musical (behold, the essence of the inside of my brain but in tangible form. it is. incredibly ominous. do recommend headphones for max goosebumps (includes a lot of records played backwards type sounds and other distortions))

dance monkey by tones and i (one of my big essek songs since i get a lot of that vibe where he's beholden to his station for *so much* that its a disservice to his growth as a person)

bottom is a rock by mother mother (my m9 as a whole song. the chorus has a line for each of them i stg and if i could reliably draw i would do an old school lyricstuck to it)

my verdict on ur playlist btw is that it is very solid and cohesive a+, but *just* to the left of my tastes, largely because a lot of it skews 70s/80s which just by nature of the beast lacks the bass i like (because it was mixed entirely different compared to modern music, which is better suited for sounding big when played digitally through smaller speakers. ive heard some of these bands on big sound systems and theyre MUCH more in line with my tastes then lmao)

[loyalhorror]

uhh, the ask emoji fandom thing but whichever ones you want to answer for RDR, Black Sails, and Sandman, with a bonus side question of have you done any of the Manderville quest stuff in ff14

OUGH. marxz i am so fond of you (not just for sending this ask i prommy). let's see.

Have you done any of the Manderville quest stuff in ff14?

I DEFINITELY HAVE but I don't remember it at all... maybe @notjusthespongenextdoor can tell me what the fuck I did sdlfksndfkjg it was so long ago

👿Least favorite character

RDR: hmmm I can't really think of anyone I genuinely dislike as a character, at least within the main 'cast'? obviously everybody fucking hates Micah but I love him as a character even if I think in some respects he's sort of WAY too obvious as a villain in a way that makes some gang members look like idiots for allowing him to stay... but then on the other hand I think that's kind of the point + it's proof of how much control Dutch has over everyone. HANDWAVES.

BS: Fucking Vane. I don't like the shit he did in-universe to Max (though I will accept that that was a poorly written plotline in general... or at the very least one that made it just really hard to empathise with anyone responsible afterwards) AND I feel that his redemption arc was kind of "eh". But mostly I think fandom kind of burnt me out on him because I just don't get the hype around him.

SM: hmm it probably depends on what version we're talking about... I don't really like show!Lyta (whereas I love comics!Lyta) but I think that's just because like. The acting and writing in the show isn't always Great(TM). I can't think of anyone where I just HATE them when they're onscreen or anything in either version... with the show I don't like the scenes with Desire+Despair but that's because their dynamic creeps me out as someone who is VERY squicked by codependent sibling relationships in media, I love both characters individually.

WAIT. I JUST REMEMBERED. In the show it's definitely Joha.nna Constantine I'm sorry I just. Do not like the actress much to begin with. I also don't really like what they did with Constantine's gender-swapped design, so to speak - she doesn't look like Constantine at all aside from the trenchcoat. They couldn't make her a cocky blonde gal (preferably with short hair, give me butch sapphic Constantine or else)? I know they were probably going off what they wanted from the acting rather than anything appearance-based, and it's better to have a good actor who looks different than a bad one who matches the comics version, but. GESTURES. I wish it'd been ANY other actress skldfndkjfng. I'm picky with my cocky English people. The wrong vibe can turn it rancid.

😍Character you have the biggest crush on

RDR: HMM good question. it used to be Dutch (yeah yeah I know) but nowadays I have no idea, once a character becomes my blorbo/I start writing them longterm I tend to lose whatever 'crush' I had on them... BS: [head in hands] it's hal gates. i am not immune to fat old men. i want him to [REDACTED] S: HM depends on the day and it depends on which character(s) I'm relating to the most on a personal level. Tends to rotate between Dream, Lucien(ne), and lately, Hob.

💐Comfort character

RDR: John my beloved... BS: Somehow it's Silver, but that's mostly because of what I've written with my friend Seras over the past several years with him + Seras' Horst. S: Dream, most of the time. Sometimes it's the Corinthian (specifically pre-runaway era Corinthian) but not often.

❤️‍🩹Character who deserved better

RDR: Abigail... I feel so fucking bad for her in so many different ways. Not in a "John was sooo shitty omg" way (though he WAS a dick) but just like, man, what a tragedy of a life. BS: MAX. The s1 abuse arc was awful in a thousand different ways but primarily I just don't think it was sensitively written at all. It's not necessarily that I think they shouldn't have included it, but holy FUCK the like... implications that it leaves about every other character who stood back and allowed that to happen or was otherwise complicit in it is uhhh. Not great. S: Dream but also not at all because I think the tragedy of his story is my favourite thing about it. Like Abigail, it's "he deserved better if we look at it in-universe but from a narrative standpoint the agony is so fucking tasty and I wouldn't change it at all".

[thedreamparadox]

Idk if you’ve been asked this already, but have you listed all of Jackle’s tarot card assignments for the other characters? I really loved that aspect of your fics!

I actually made a doc of these to keep track! I'll copy-paste. (I have learned if I do not write things downs I will forget something while mid writing, I suffer.) Also thank you, finding out that Jackle's cards were actually tarot definitely kicked off some headcanons. Getting into the Persona series helped too lol

Wizeman - The Devil, the Tower, and the Hierophant, depending on the readings toward the beginning, later on shifting to just the Devil and Emperor after NiGHTS' rebellion. After NiD, the Hierophant dropped out entirely and was replaced with the Emperor. While Jackle only ever formally used respectful terms to his face, they mentally associated their creator with the Emperor (inverted Emperor, specifically). Does still refer to Wizeman as the Devil, though, but Devil and inverted Emperor show up routinely together

Meanings: Domination and excessive control. Devil - restriction

NiGHTS - The Fool. Before the reading that sparked the arcana shift and the rebellion, NiGHTS was usually associated with the Moon

Meanings: Risk-taking, spontaneity. Moon - subconscious, dreams, inner confusion

Reala - Formerly associated with the Sun, before the traitor era. Associated with the suit of Swords ever since NiGHTS’ rebellion, primarily the inverted Knight of Swords. Presently no settled on arcana. Jackle hesitantly classifies them under the inverted Hanged Man, a transitionary phase, some time after JoD.

Meanings: Delays, resistance, stalling, indecision. Knight of Swords: restless, unfocused, impulsive, burn-out. Sun - vitality, success

Jackle - While Jackle does not personally self-identify as being worthy of the arcana, they acknowledge that their personal card is most frequently Fortune, though they’d self-describe as being more aligned with the Hermit if they absolutely had to pick one.

Meanings: Karma, luck, breaking cycles. Hermit - Introspection, isolation, inner guidance

Helen - Strength. Picked for her resolve despite her nerves and her self-doubt at the start of her journey.

Meanings: Inner strength, compassion

Will - Chariot. This is partially a ‘legs arcana’ joke from the Persona series, but also picked for determination and steadfastness. Picked also as a parallel to Helen’s arcana. 

Meanings: Determination, lack of direction.

Claris - Star. Largely designated for the obvious ‘star’ pun. All Dreamers are representative of both their Inverted and Upright arcana at different periods of their journey. Claris flipped from Upright to Inverted and back again over the course of Jackle knowing her, so the designation stuck.

Meanings: Lack of faith, purpose, hope

Elliot - Moon. Reversed Moon, to be more specific, technically both readings. It’s complicated! (Also had to match Claris’ arcana, space themed but not Sun because she doesn’t vibe Sun at all. Closer association with dreams anyway.)

Meanings: Fear, anxiety, intuition, release of fear

Owl - Inverted Hierophant. But a positive one, despite being Inverted. Meeting Owl finally explained a lot of some of Jackle’s old readings. 

Meanings: Challenging the status quo and freedom

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Addendum 1: Assemble the Forces!

Welcome to the first addendum to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Today, we'll be looking at some of the media that came out in the 70's and before. A lot of the shows covered here are ones that were fairly big in their own right, especially when compared to the juggernauts of the era like Ultraman, Mazinger Z, and Getter Robo. What should also not surprise anyone with a lot of the shows listed here is that a bunch of the shows listed here have one Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning attached to them in some manner.

Because of course he is.

And I should note: unlike in An Abbreviated History of Mecha proper, the addendums will not be listing these entries in chronological order. This primarily because a) I need to get back into the groove of writing one-off posts (especially after The Devil That is Capitalism), and b) there are a lot of things that slipped out of the cracks, and I treasure my sanity.

Anyways, let's get down to brass tacks.

Daiku Maryu Gaiking (1976) and Gaiking: The Legend of Daiku Maryu (2005)

Daiku Maryu Gaiking (or Dino Mech Gaiking) is a 1976 giant robot series known for having plots take place in real world locations outside of Japan and also for featuring the first ever use of a carrier ship for the titular giant robot Gaiking. Gaiking is also somewhat infamous due to Toei trying their absolute hardest not to pay Go Nagai since he and Dynamic Planning created the series.

Toei would revisit Gaiking in 2005 with the release of Gaiking: the Legend of Daiku Maryu, which would feature a largely unchanged Gaiking and Daiku Maryu but feature a completely different main character.

Kotetsu Jeeg/Steel Jeeg (1975) and Kotetsushin Jeeg (2007)

Created by Go Nagai immediately following the success of Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger, Kotetsu Jeeg alongside its sibling series UFO Robot Grendizer would help to cement Nagai's legacy as one of the big mecha creators in the canon. Kotetsu Jeeg would receive a sequel in 2007, Kotetsushin Jeeg. The sequel was directed by Jun Kawagoe of Getter Robo Armageddon and Mazinkaiser SKL fame and features JAM Project performing the OP Stormbringer.

In other words, Kotetsu Jeeg beat Mazinger Z to the punch with the distant sequel. Or I guess you could say it beat Mazinger Z to the rocket punch?

Eh? Get it? No? Okay...

Planetary Robot Danguard Ace (1977)

Danguard Ace is one of the many mecha shows that came out in the wake of giants like Mazinger Z and Getter Robo. This series is noteworthy for being Leiji Matsumoto's first and only foray into the giant robot genre of mecha.

And hey, guess who's currently the owner of the Danguard Ace property?

It's Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning.

Abassador Magma (1965)

Ambassador Magma is a manga series created by Osamu Tezuka. It would also receive a tokusatsu series shortly after, with one of its big accomplishments being that it would be the first tokusatsu series aired in color. Specifically, it would beat honorary mecha show Ultraman to the punch by about six days.

Invincible Robot Trider G7 (1980)

Something to always keep in mind with the history of mecha is that Mobile Suit Gundam was not initially a hit. Invincible Robot Trider G7 serves as a good reminder of this, as it was an anime series produced by Sotsu (as in the very same Sotsu that also produced the original Gundam alongside Sunrise). Airing at around the same time as Space Runaway Ideon, Trider G7 would mark the beginning of giant robots being used in the deep recesses of space alongside Ideon.

Future Robot Daltanious (1979)

I couldn't find a good gif for Daltanious without watching the series myself, so we'll have to make do with this promotional image instead.

Future Robot Daltanious is a 1979 anime series that had Tadao Nagahama as its original director for its first couple of episodes before he left to direct the seminal Shoujo series The Rose of Versailles (a series that really should be treated as an honorary mecha series due to its influence on anime and manga as a whole). Even though he only worked on the series for about thirteen episodes and passed away before he could come back to work on it, Daltanious is still treated as one of his shows alongside Combattler V, Voltes V, and Daimos.

Daltanious is also an important series for those familiar with the Brave franchise, as Daltanious is the design inspiration for both Exkaiser and GaoGaiGar.

Super Robot Red Baron (1973) and Super Robot Mach Baron (1974)

Super Robot Red Baron would come onto the scene in 1973 as the giant robot tokusatsu shows would wane in abundance due to their expensive natures. Red Baron, and later its sequel series Mach Baron, would serve as a sort of swan song as it would also have to compete with one Mazinger Z for the hearts of children all across Japan. Giant robot tokusatsu wouldn't go away altogether though, and we'd see this with the next and arguably one of the weirdest entries both here and in the canon of comic book history.

Toei Spider-Man (1978)

In cooperation with Marvel Comics (yes really), Toei would put out their own version of Spider-Man towards the end of the 70's. Note that this is specifically in a post-Kamen Rider/Super Sentai world, so Spider-Man in this series is less "quippy teenager living up to his uncles words about great power and great responsibility" and more "the warrior of hell fighting aliens" (although, I'm pretty sure either Peter Parker or Miles Morales have fought the forces of hell at this point).

Also Spider-Man in the Toei series pilots a giant robot named Leopardon to fight giant alien monsters. This may be funny, but Leopardon is important because it is what inspires Super Sentai to include giant robots in all of their future shows.

Also, to the folks at Marvel. Sony and the production crew behind the Spiderverse films: when are we going to get Toei Spider-Man in the Spiderverse films?

Jumbo Machinder/Shogun Warriors

Image source: Shogun Warriors unofficial website

Finally, to round out today's post, how could I not mention the Jumbo Machinder line of toys. All jumbo machinder was was a line of toys based off of popular giant robot shows like Mazinger Z, Gettero Robo G, Brave Raideen, Gaiking, and many more (also Godzilla and Rodan had their own machinder toys). The toys all came with spring-loaded projectiles and were immensely popular with kids back in the day.

Mattel would eventually get the distribution rights to these toys, bringing them over to the US as the Shogun Warriors. Mattel would also ask Marvel Comics to write a comic series for the Shogun Warriors that would explain why all of these largely unrelated giant robots were working together.

Thank you for reading this addendum to An Abbreviated History of Mecha. Normally, I'd do a conclusion section, but I feel like I'd have to follow up with another Addendum post.

[bluemooncove]

The exact make up of the kingdoms of the world is something that is being created as needed because with a project like this that can be part of the fun of world building. I also think drawing an inspiration from history can be a create source of ideas and a way of distinguishing culture. In the particular case of Elbeth this is a world meant to emulate a specific period of history so it's notably important. I have never, however, been a particular fan of just doing fantasy counterparts of real world cultures. I feel that makes the point of a fantasy setting redundant and has some unfortunate implications. For that reason I prefer a bit of a mix and match method.

My normal way of doing it sees a 3-4 mixture. Generally I start by choosing an anchor that serves to the basis for the language and naming schemes of the kingdom. Generally that means a specific land and a specific period (I'll have an example a bit later). Then I attempt to find a totally different place in the world that I feel has developed quite culturally differently but that has underlying similarities to the anchor. With that you have a reference for how things could have developed differently and can begin blending the two to form unique ideas. In addition to this I then try to chose a region fairly close to the anchor to draw additional naming schemes or rules from. Often the historic interaction between two regions leads to show linguistic and cultural synergy that you can use to get an idea of how both's cultural traditions can evolve and change. Finally, I sometimes also try to work in another period of history from the Anchor in order to bring in ideas that are (generally) similar to the anchors but practiced in different ways.

I'm not sure if that explanation was too clear, so here are some examples of some of the places I'm working on here. These are all places that haven't come up yet but are relevant as the homelands of some characters in the works.

Goshima uses Sengoku Japan as its anchor. Samurai have become quite relevant in modern fantasy and the Sengoku as a conflict fits well for the world of conflict and adventure Elbeth is meant to be. For that reason I definitely wanted to fit in. Goshima was chosen as a name primarily because of its historic name of Yashima (eight islands), I was envisioning a place with five large islands and a few smaller ones between them so a name that meant "five islands" seemed quite fitting. I then let that meet with the British primarily Georgian era Britain. Here the primarily similarity I was drawing upon was both being island nations that became naval superpowers. In addition to that I personally see a similarity in Ireland/Wales/Scotland having being united under the rule of England as akin to the many disparate regions of Japan (and later Okinawa/Hokkaido) being united under their emperor and shogun. The reason I favored the Georgian era was primarily my preference for the fashion of that time. As far as somewhere nearby to the anchor goes I'm still searching a bit but I'm presently favoring Indonesia, I'll need to crack open my books though on Indonesian history to determine if there's a specific period I want to use as refrence. Finally for another point in the anchor's history I'm also choosing to draw from the Kofun Period due to me thinking their enormous tombs being really cool to me with a tiny bit of the Jomon period because I really like dogus.

On the other hand Galla uses a mixture of Hundred Year War and the end of the Capetian Era of France as my anchor. Given their influence on romantic/chivalric tales it seems quite relevant to include somewhere highly influenced by France. Galla references its name from the Latin name for the region Gallia but is meant to also invoke Gala a public ball. For its similar but different region I chose Ming Dynasty China. The similarities I was drawing from were that both France & China rank among the most famous of empires and spent significant periods as the main powers of their region. Each saw the construction of many historic landmarks across their various dynasties. Each had the basis for their absolute rule from it being granted by Heaven. I chose the Ming Dynasty primarily because it is contemporary to the Hundred Year War and saw the power of the emperor become more autocratic like the later Age of Absolutism. As for the geographically similar region I chose Medieval Ireland. This overlaps with the next section but the celts had a history within France (and much of western Europe) before winding up primarily in Ireland. I think drawing from that shared history has a lot of potential. Which is why, additionally, as a separate era for my anchor I'm looking towards Celtic France of 300 bc for some additional ideas.

Anyways I heard news about the new 2hu album is out so I'm gonna go look at that now! Goodbye O/

[antisocialxconstruct]

So you made a neocities... now what?

Okay, here it is! So you’ve seen how web2 is becoming more and more corporatized and toxic, you know web3 will be a capitalist nightmare if it becomes reality, and people are rediscovering the nostalgic charm of the web1 era so you want in. You want to stake out your little corner of the internet, you made your neocities account, maybe a proboards to go with it...

Now what do you do with it?

This is a short(-ish) guide intended to give you some direction when populating your own site. This is not a technical guide for building a website, I am by no means qualified to teach you html or css, and besides those resources exist already. Think of this more as content inspiration, organized loosely based on what you already use social media for and what you’d be bringing with you to a new space.

If anyone has ideas I didn’t think of, feel free to add on!

you could start a blog if you:

write a lot of original twitter/tumblr posts

like aggregating other people’s content

This one might be the most obvious considering twitter and tumblr both advertise themselves mainly as “blogging platforms.” A personal blog is the simplest way to make use of a personal website, because the greatest demand on you once you have a template you like is to simply write posts. Publish your lore posts and metacommentary on your favorite media, write about your day and the weird things that happen to you at work, show off new recipes you learned, review your favorite bands’ new albums, point people toward cool artists you’ve discovered, hype up your friend’s new art... the list goes on. You can theme the blog around a specific topic or let it be broad and untargeted, you can write essays or a couple sentences. There are No Rules.

you could start a hobby website if you:

run a themed blog on tumblr

have a niche interest you’re passionate about

do a craft with a process people might find interesting

This would be sort of an offshoot of a basic blog. Do you make cosplay? Ceramics? Do you have a lot of opinions about 19th century interior design? Do you find yourself constantly wanting to correct common misconceptions about East Asian martial arts? You can make a whole website about that, if you really want to. Document your process, document the sources you’ve gone to for research, just gush or vent about the things you’re always aching to talk about but don’t think anyone else wants to hear. Organize it all however you want and make it look pretty.

* you could make a fandom site if you:

like collecting and/or creating fanworks

want to minimize fandom discourse

Back In The Day, before large-scale fanwork directories existed, people used to curate their own smaller fandom communities with their own rules about what could and couldn’t be posted or discussed. Yes, a lot of work from those eras was lost specifically because these were small, decentralized communities, and it’s always advisable to keep backups of everything you create, but the greater appeal of these communities was the avoidance of “competing needs” issues when it came to people’s tastes and interests. If you want to post and collect fanfic for your favorite show but there are things you absolutely do not want to see in them, you can set those rules. The people who agree with you will be happy to have a space curated to their tastes. The people who don’t agree with you can make their own site.

you could build a portfolio/gallery if you:

are primarily a content creator who does art, fiction, music, etc

like posting photos/art on instagram

have a lot of original concepts/characters/projects

create raunchy art and are tired of being chased off other platforms

This one should also be pretty obvious. If you make creative work and you want a place to show off without worrying about algorithms, peak posting times, terms of service, etc., your best bet is to just make your own space. Post whatever you want, organize it however you want. If you’re concerned about reach, it’s still worth cross-posting to social media, but since no truly just-for-artists socmed has risen to the surface yet, a personal site is still going to be your freest and most flexible safe haven. (Look into Lightbox! It’s pretty easy to set up and it’s great for displaying a lot of images in one place.)

you could host a webcomic if you:

have a webcomic

What more is there to say? Once again, you don’t have the built-in traffic of hosting on a site like webtoons, but you do have freedom and flexibility.

* you could make a roleplay forum if you:

already enjoy roleplaying on discord, tumblr, google docs, etc

like the idea of tabletop gaming but not the scheduling challenges

want your stories to be better organized and preserved

This is another “back in the day” sort of suggestion, but most roleplaying that I remember used to be done on forums that were run and moderated by community members. As with a fandom site, you have a lot of control over who joins, and what people are permitted to do, meaning you can create exactly the kind of community you want to be a part of.

* a couple of these would obviously require some degree of management/moderation on your part if you’re planning to be the host of the space, so you should consider whether that’s a responsibility you want to take on.

At the end of the day, the simplest answer to “what do I do with a personal website?” is... anything you want :) But I know that can be a bit daunting. Hopefully this has pointed you roughly in the right direction, at least!

[fozmeadows]

race & culture in fandom

For the past decade, English language fanwriting culture post the days of LiveJournal and Strikethrough has been hugely shaped by a handful of megafandoms that exploded across AO3 and tumblr – I’m talking Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Dr Who, the MCU, Harry Potter, Star Wars, BBC Sherlock – which have all been overwhelmingly white. I don’t mean in terms of the fans themselves, although whiteness also figures prominently in said fandoms: I mean that the source materials themselves feature very few POC, and the ones who are there tended to be done dirty by the creators.

Periodically, this has led POC in fandom to point out, extremely reasonably, that even where non-white characters do get central roles in various media properties, they’re often overlooked by fandom at large, such that the popular focus stays primarily on the white characters. Sometimes this happened (it was argued) because the POC characters were secondary to begin with and as such attracted less fan devotion (although this has never stopped fandoms from picking a random white gremlin from the background cast and elevating them to the status of Fave); at other times, however, there has been a clear trend of sidelining POC leads in favour of white alternatives (as per Finn, Poe and Rose Tico being edged out in Star Wars shipping by Hux, Kylo and Rey). I mention this, not to demonize individuals whose preferred ships happen to involve white characters, but to point out the collective impact these trends can have on POC in fandom spaces: it’s not bad to ship what you ship, but that doesn’t mean there’s no utility in analysing what’s popular and why through a racial lens.

All this being so, it feels increasingly salient that fanwriting culture as exists right now developed under the influence and in the shadow of these white-dominated fandoms – specifically, the taboo against criticizing or critiquing fics for any reason. Certainly, there’s a hell of a lot of value to Don’t Like, Don’t Read as a general policy, especially when it comes to the darker, kinkier side of ficwriting, and whether the context is professional or recreational, offering someone direct, unsolicited feedback on their writing style is a dick move. But on the flipside, the anti-criticism culture in fanwriting has consistently worked against fans of colour who speak out about racist tropes, fan ignorance and hurtful portrayals of living cultures. Voicing anything negative about works created for free is seen as violating a core rule of ficwriting culture – but as that culture has been foundationally shaped by white fandoms, white characters and, overwhelmingly, white ideas about what’s allowed and what isn’t, we ought to consider that all critical contexts are not created equal.

Right now, the rise of C-drama (and K-drama, and J-drama) fandoms is seeing a surge of white creators – myself included – writing fics for fandoms in which no white people exist, and where the cultural context which informs the canon is different to western norms. Which isn’t to say that no popular fandoms focused on POC have existed before now – K-pop RPF and anime fandoms, for example, have been big for a while. But with the success of The Untamed, more western fans are investing in stories whose plots, references, characterization and settings are so fundamentally rooted in real Chinese history and living Chinese culture that it’s not really possible to write around it. And yet, inevitably, too many in fandom are trying to do just that, treating respect for Chinese culture or an attempt to understand it as optional extras – because surely, fandom shouldn’t feel like work. If you’re writing something for free, on your own time, for your own pleasure, why should anyone else get to demand that you research the subject matter first?

Because it matters, is the short answer. Because race and culture are not made-up things like lightsabers and werewolves that you can alter, mock or misunderstand without the risk of hurting or marginalizing actual real people – and because, quite frankly, we already know that fandom is capable of drawing lines in the sand where it chooses. When Brony culture first reared its head (hah), the online fandom for My Little Pony – which, like the other fandoms we’re discussing here, is overwhelmingly female – was initially welcoming. It felt like progress, that so many straight men could identify with such a feminine show; a potential sign that maybe, we were finally leaving the era of mainstream hypermasculine fandom bullshit behind, at least in this one arena. And then, in pretty much the blink of an eye, things got overwhelmingly bad. Artists drawing hardcorn porn didn’t tag their works as adult, leading to those images flooding the public search results for a children’s show. Women were edged out of their own spaces. Bronies got aggressive, posting harsh, ugly criticism of artists whose gijinka interpretations of the Mane Six as humans were deemed insufficiently fuckable.

The resulting fandom conflict was deeply unpleasant, but in the end, the verdict was laid down loud and clear: if you cannot comport yourself like a decent fucking person – if your base mode of engagement within a fandom is to coopt it from the original audience and declare it newly cool only because you’re into it now; if you do not, at the very least, attempt to understand and respect the original context so as to engage appropriately (in this case, by acknowledging that the media you’re consuming was foundational to many women who were there before you and is still consumed by minors, and tagging your goddamn porn) – then the rest of fandom will treat you like a social biohazard, and rightly so.

Here’s the thing, fellow white people: when it comes to C-drama fandoms and other non-white, non-western properties? We are the Bronies.

Not, I hasten to add, in terms of toxic fuckery – though if we don’t get our collective shit together, I’m not taking that darkest timeline off the table. What I mean is that, by virtue of the whiteminding which, both consciously and unconsciously, has shaped current fan culture, particularly in terms of ficwriting conventions, we’re collectively acting as though we’re the primary audience for narratives that weren’t actually made with us in mind, being hostile dicks to Chinese and Chinese diaspora fans when they take the time to point out what we’re getting wrong. We’re bristling because we’ve conceived of ficwriting as a place wherein No Criticism Occurs without questioning how this culture, while valuable in some respects, also serves to uphold, excuse and perpetuate microaggresions and other forms of racism, lashing out or falling back on passive aggression when POC, quite understandably, talk about how they’re sick and tired of our bullshit.

An analogy: one of the most helpful and important tags on AO3 is the one for homophobia, not just because it allows readers to brace for or opt out of reading content they might find distressing, but because it lets the reader know that the writer knows what homophobia is, and is employing it deliberately. When this concept is tagged, I – like many others – often feel more able to read about it than I do when it crops up in untagged works of commercial fiction, film or TV, because I don’t have to worry that the author thinks what they’re depicting is okay. I can say definitively, “yes, the author knows this is messed up, but has elected to tell a messed up story, a fact that will be obvious to anyone who reads this,” instead of worrying that someone will see a fucked up story blind and think “oh, I guess that’s fine.” The contextual framing matters, is the point – which is why it’s so jarring and unpleasant on those rare occasions when I do stumble on a fic whose author has legitimately mistaken homophobic microaggressions for cute banter. This is why, in a ficwriting culture that otherwise aggressively dislikes criticism, the request to tag for a certain thing – while still sometimes fraught – is generally permitted: it helps everyone to have a good time and to curate their fan experience appropriately.

But when white and/or western fans fail to educate ourselves about race, culture and the history of other countries and proceed to deploy that ignorance in our writing, we’re not tagging for racism as a thing we’ve explored deliberately; we’re just being ignorant at best and hateful at worst, which means fans of colour don’t know to avoid or brace for the content of those works until they get hit in the face with microaggresions and/or outright racism. Instead, the burden is placed on them to navigate a minefield not of their creation: which fans can be trusted to write respectfully? Who, if they make an error, will listen and apologise if the error is explained? Who, if lived experience, personal translations or cultural insights are shared, can be counted on to acknowledge those contributions rather than taking sole credit? Too often, fans of colour are being made to feel like guests in their own house, while white fans act like a tone-policing HOA.

Point being: fandom and ficwriting cultures as they currently exist badly need to confront the implicit acceptance of racism and cultural bias that underlies a lot of community rules about engagement and criticism, and that needs to start with white and western fans. We don’t want to be the new Bronies, guys. We need to do better.